OCEANSIDE  Tim Lambesis, lead singer of the heavy metal band As I Lay Dying, was arrested Tuesday in Oceanside after allegedly trying to hire an undercover detective to kill his estranged wife, the Sheriff’s Department said.

Lambesis was taken into custody about 2 p.m. at an undisclosed retail business on Vista Way and booked into Vista jail on a count of solicitation of murder and a count of conspiracy to commit a crime.

He is scheduled to appear in Vista Superior Court at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, according to the jail website.

Jan Caldwell, spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Department, said she could not release details about the ongoing investigation.

Lambesis’ wife filed for divorce on Sept. 20 in Vista Superior Court, and the court record indicates at least one minor child was involved in the marriage.

Billboard magazine reported online that the couple had adopted three children from Ethiopia.

The Sheriff’s Department said it received information on Thursday that Lambesis was soliciting someone to kill his estranged wife, who lives in Encinitas, and it was clear that the department needed “to act on this immediately,” Caldwell said.

Lambesis, 32, was a graduate of Santa Fe Christian High School in Solana Beach and had talked in interviews about being a Christian. He co-founded the band in San Diego in 2001. In 2005, the group won “Artist of the Year” at the San Diego Music Awards. The band was later nominated for a Grammy Award.

The band wrapped up a tour in Asia last week and was scheduled to start a U.S. tour on May 30 in Ohio.

“I love the crowds here in Asia,” Lambesis posted on his Facebook page last week.

Fans immediately took to his Facebook page to post their reactions to news of the arrest, many of them saying they were in disbelief.

“Really hoping this isn’t true,” one wrote.

Lambesis also took to social media on March 29, using his Twitter account to post about the fatal shooting the previous day of Olivenhain filmmaker and philanthropist John Upton, whom he said was a friend.

“Devastating news,” he tweeted. “Just found out my friend & ﻿partner in a new charity project I was starting was murdered. I’m in shock.”